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{{short description|Type of single-chamber megalithic tomb}}<br />
[[File:Macro, Liquid drop on Feather, 70-300mm-Coupler & reverse Lens-213.jpg|thumb|[[Poulnabrone dolmen]], [[the Burren]], [[County Clare]], Ireland]]<br />
[[File:Dolmens in Amadalavalasa.jpg|thumb|Dolmens in [[Amudalavalasa|Amadalavalasa]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], India]]<br />
A '''dolmen''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|ɒ|l|m|ɛ|n}}) or '''portal tomb''' is a type of single-chamber [[Megalith#Tombs|megalithic tomb]], usually consisting of two or more upright [[megalith]]s supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the [[Late Neolithic]] period (4000{{ndash}}3000 BCE) and were sometimes covered with earth or smaller stones to form a [[tumulus]] (burial mound). Small pad-stones may be wedged between the cap and supporting stones to achieve a level appearance.{{sfnp|Murphy|1997|p=43}} In many instances, the covering has eroded away, leaving only the stone "skeleton".<br />
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The [[Korean Peninsula]] is home to the world's highest concentration of dolmens,<ref name="UNESCO">{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/977/ |access-date=2023-01-19 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref> including "cemeteries" consisting of 30–100 examples located in close proximity to each other;<ref name="WorldHistoryEncyc">{{cite web|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/987/dolmens-of-ancient-korea/|title="Dolmens of Ancient Korea"|date=1 December 2016}}</ref> with over 35,000 dolmens,<ref name="auto">{{cite book|last1=Jensen|first1=John Jr.|title=Earth Epochs: Cataclysms across the Holocene|publisher=John Jensen|page=276|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EfxiCAAAQBAJ&q=dolmen+in+korea+40%25&pg=PA276|access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> Korea alone (for unknown reasons) accounts for approximately 40% of the global total.<ref name="auto" /><ref name="AsiaSocietyDolmen">{{cite web|url=https://asiasociety.org/korea/unesco-world-heritage-series-part-1-dolmens|title=UNESCO World Heritage Series: Part 1 – Dolmens|date=January 2017}}</ref><ref name="BritannicaDolmen">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/dolmen|title="Dolmen"|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=31 July 2015}}</ref><br />
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==History==<br />
It remains unclear when, why and by whom the earliest dolmens were made. The oldest known are found in [[Western Europe]], dating from c. 7,000 years ago. Archaeologists still do not know who erected these dolmens, which makes it difficult to know why they did it. They are generally all regarded as tombs or burial chambers, despite the absence of clear evidence for this. Human remains, sometimes accompanied by artefacts, have been found in or close to the dolmens which could be scientifically dated using [[radiocarbon dating]]. However, it has been impossible to prove that these remains date from the time when the stones were originally set in place.<ref>Lewis, S. (2009) ''Guide to the Menhirs and other Megaliths of Central Brittany'', Nezert Books, {{ISBN|978-9522705952}}</ref><br />
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[[File:Example of a southern-style dolmen at Ganghwa Island.jpg|thumb|Dolmen at [[Ganghwa Island]], South Korea]]<br />
The word ''dolmen'' entered archaeology when [[Théophile Corret de la Tour d'Auvergne]] used it to describe megalithic tombs in his {{Lang|fr|Origines gauloises}} (1796) using the spelling ''dolmin'' (the current spelling was introduced about a decade later and had become standard in French by about 1885).<ref>{{cite book|last=Bakker|first=Jan Albert|title=Megalithic Research in the Netherlands, 1547–1911|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_MQiK5ATCL1wC|year=2009|publisher=Sidestone Press|isbn=978-9088900341 |page=36}}</ref><ref>Corret de la Tour d'Auvergne, {{google books|vmpAAAAAcAAJ|Origines gauloises. Celles des plus anciens peuples de l'Europe puisées dans leur vraie source ou recherche sur la langue, l'origine et les antiquités des Celto-bretons de l'Armorique, pour servir à l'histoire ancienne et moderne de ce peuple et à celle des Français|page=PR1}}, 1796–97.</ref> The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' does not mention ''dolmin'' in English and gives its first citation for ''dolmen'' from a book on [[Brittany]] in 1859, describing the word as "The French term, used by some English authors, for a [[cromlech]] ...". The name was supposedly derived from a [[Breton language]] term meaning '[[stone table]]' but doubt has been cast on this,{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} and the ''OED'' describes its origin as "Modern French". A book on [[Cornwall|Cornish]] antiquities from 1754 said that the current term in the [[Cornish language]] for a cromlech was {{Lang|kw|tolmen}} ('hole of stone') and the OED says that "There is reason to think that this was the term inexactly reproduced by Latour d'Auvergne [sic] as ''dolmen'', and misapplied by him and succeeding French archaeologists to the ''cromlech''".<ref>''[[OED]]'' "Dolmen", 1st edition, 1897</ref> Nonetheless it has now replaced ''cromlech'' as the usual English term in archaeology, when the more technical and descriptive alternatives are not used. The later Cornish term was [[wikt:quoit|''quoit'']] – an English-language word for an object with a hole through the middle preserving the original Cornish language term of {{Lang|kw|tolmen}} – the name of another dolmen-like monument is in fact [[Mên-an-Tol]] 'stone with hole' (Standard Written Form: ''Men An Toll''.)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/nov/12/maevkennedy1|title = Vandals threaten stone age monuments| website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |date = 12 November 1999}}</ref><br />
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Dolmens are known by a variety of names in other languages, including {{lang-ga|dolmain}},<ref>{{Cite web|title=dolmen – Translation to Irish Gaelic with audio pronunciation of translations for dolmen by New English-Irish Dictionary|url=https://www.focloir.ie/en/dictionary/ei/dolmen|access-date=2020-11-26|website=www.focloir.ie}}</ref> [[Galician language|Galician]] and {{lang-pt|anta}}, {{lang-bg|translit=Dolmeni|Долмени}}, {{lang-de|Hünengrab/Hünenbett}}, [[Afrikaans]] and {{lang-nl|hunebed}}, {{lang-eu|trikuharri}}, [[Abkhaz language|Abkhaz]]: {{Lang|ab-latn|Adamra}}, [[Adyghe language|Adyghe]]: {{Lang|ady-latn|Ispun}}, [[Danish language|Danish]] and {{lang-no|dysse}}, {{lang-sv|dös}}, {{lang-ko|translit=goindol|고인돌}}, and {{lang-he|גַלעֵד}}. [[:wikt:granja|''Granja'']] is used in [[Portugal]], [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], and some parts of [[Spain]].{{cn|date=February 2022}} The rarer forms ''anta'' and ''ganda'' also appear. In [[Catalan language|Catalan-speaking areas]], they are known simply as {{Lang|ca|dolmen}}, but also by a variety of folk names, including {{Lang|ca|cova}} ('cave'),<ref name=GEC>{{GEC|0099666|dolmen}}</ref> {{Lang|ca|caixa}} ('crate' or 'coffin'),<ref name=caixa>Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. [https://dcvb.iec.cat/results.asp "caixa"] (in Catalan). In: ''Diccionari català-valencià-balear''. Palma: Moll, 1930–1962. {{ISBN|8427300255}}.</ref> {{Lang|ca|taula}} ('table'),<ref name=taula>Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. [https://dcvb.iec.cat/results.asp "taula"] (in Catalan). In: ''Diccionari català-valencià-balear''. Palma: Moll, 1930–1962. {{ISBN|8427300255}}.</ref> {{Lang|ca|arca}} ('chest'),<ref name=GEC/> {{Lang|ca|cabana}} ('hut'), {{Lang|ca|barraca}} ('hut'), {{Lang|ca|llosa}} ('slab'), {{Lang|ca|llosa de jaça}} ('pallet slab'),<ref>Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. [https://dcvb.iec.cat/results.asp "llosa de jaça"] (in Catalan). In: ''Diccionari català-valencià-balear''. Palma: Moll, 1930–1962. {{ISBN|8427300255}}.</ref> {{Lang|ca|roca}} ('rock') or {{Lang|ca|pedra}} ('stone'), usually combined with a second part such as {{Lang|la|de l'alarb}} ('of the Arab'),<ref name=caixa/> {{Lang|ca|del/de moro/s}} ('of the Moor/s'),<ref name=caixa/><ref>Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. [https://dcvb.iec.cat/results.asp "cova"] (in Catalan). In: ''Diccionari català-valencià-balear''. Palma: Moll, 1930–1962. {{ISBN|8427300255}}.</ref> {{Lang|ca|del lladre}} ('of the thief'), {{Lang|ca|del dimoni}} ('of the devil'), {{Lang|ca|d'en Rotllà/Rotllan/Rotlan/Roldan}} ('of [[Roland]]'),<ref name=taula/><ref name=caixa/>. In the [[Basque Country (greater region)|Basque Country]], they are attributed to the ''[[jentil]]ak'', a race of giants.<br />
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The [[etymology]] of the {{lang-de|Hünenbett, Hünengrab}} and {{lang-nl|hunebed}} – with {{Lang|de|Hüne}}''/''{{Lang|nl|hune}} meaning 'giant' – all evoke the image of [[Giant (mythology)|giants]] buried ({{Lang|de|bett}}/{{Lang|nl|bed}}/{{Lang|de|grab}} = 'bed/grave') there. Of other [[Celtic languages]], [[Welsh language|Welsh]] {{Lang|cy|cromlech}} was borrowed into English and ''quoit'' is commonly used in English in [[Cornwall]].<br />
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== Types ==<br />
* {{annotated link|Great dolmen}}<br />
* {{Annotated link|Inuksuk}}<br />
* {{annotated link|Polygonal dolmen}}<br />
* {{annotated link|Rectangular dolmen}}<br />
* {{annotated link|Simple dolmen}}<br />
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<gallery widths="150" heights="100" class="center"><br />
File:Trethevy Quoit from the South - geograph.org.uk - 362250.jpg|[[Trethevy Quoit]] – one of the best-preserved in [[Cornwall]], UK dated to around 3500–2500 BCE<br />
File:Chûn Quoit (small).jpg|[[Chûn Quoit]] in Cornwall, UK, about 2400 BCE<br />
File:Zennor Quoit (small) (9612120).jpg|[[Zennor Quoit]] in Cornwall, UK, 2500–1500 BCE<br />
File:Lanyon Quoit 05.jpg|[[Lanyon Quoit]] in Cornwall, UK, 3500–2500 BCE<br />
File:MarayoorDolmen.JPG|A dolmen erected by Neolithic people in [[Marayur]], [[Kerala, India]].<br />
File:Muniyara.jpg|Dolmens of [[Marayoor]], India.<br />
File:Example of a southern-style dolmen at Ganghwa Island.jpg|A southern-style dolmen at [[Ganghwa Island]], [[South Korea]]<br />
File:Example of a northern-style dolmen at Ganghwa Island.jpg|A northern-style dolmen at Ganghwa Island, South Korea<br />
File:Korea-Hwasun Dolmen sites03.jpg|The biggest dolmen near [[Hwasun]], [[South Korea]]<br />
File:Dolmen Roch-Feutet.JPG|The dolmen Er-Roc'h-Feutet in [[Carnac]], [[Brittany]], France<br />
File:Crucuno dolmen.jpg|Crucuno dolmen in [[Plouharnel]], Brittany, France<br />
File:KilclooneyDolmen1986.jpg|[[Kilclooney More]] dolmen near [[Ardara, County Donegal]], Ireland<br />
File:LG Dolmen1.JPG|[[Lancken-Granitz dolmen]], Germany<br />
File:Hunebed-d27.jpg|T-shaped Hunebed D27 in [[Borger-Odoorn]], Netherlands<br />
File:Antadaaboboreira.jpg|Dólmen da Aboboreira, [[Baião Municipality|Baião]], Portugal<br />
File:Dolmen di Avola.JPG|Dolmen of Avola, Sicily<br />
File:Bisceglie dolmen della chianca 5.JPG|Dolmen of [[Bisceglie]], [[Apulia]]<br />
File:Inukshuk Sunset Kuujjuaraapik January.jpg|Inuksuk in the vicinity of [[Kuujjuarapik]], Quebec<br />
File:12i dolmen di Montalbano.jpg|Dolmen of Fasano, Apulia<br />
File:Tinkinswood burial chamber (4787).jpg|[[Tinkinswood]], [[Vale of Glamorgan]], Wales, around 3000 BCE<br />
File:Dolmen de Axeitos.jpg|Dolmen of [[Oleiros, Spain|Oleiros]], Galicia<br />
File:Mores02.jpg|Dolmen Sa Coveccada, [[Mores, Sardinia]]<br />
File:Dolmen Russia Kavkaz Jane 1.jpg|[[Russia]]<br />
File:Долмен Начови чаири.jpg|[[Bulgaria]]<br />
File:Dombate perfil 2013.jpg|Musealised Dolmen de Dombate, [[Galicia (Spain)]]<br />
File:Dolmen-Keriaval.jpg|Keriaval Dolmen, [[Carnac]], [[Brittany]], France<br />
File:Temuan Kolonial Belanda.jpg|Dolmen Batu Brak in [[Sumatra]]. [[Liwa, Indonesia]].<br />
</gallery><br />
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== See also ==<br />
{{Div col}}<br />
* [[Antequera Dolmens Site]]<br />
* [[Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites]]<br />
* [[Irish megalithic tombs]]<br />
* [[Kistvaen]]<br />
* [[List of dolmens]]<br />
* [[List of megalithic sites]]<br />
* [[Megalithic art]]<br />
* [[Neolithic Europe]]<br />
* [[Nordic megalith architecture]]<br />
* [[Rujm el-Hiri]]<br />
* [[Taula]]<br />
{{Div col end}}<br />
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== References ==<br />
{{Reflist|30em}}<br />
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=== Sources ===<br />
* {{cite book|last=Holcombe|first=Charles|title=A History of East Asia: From the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rHeb7wQu0xIC&pg=PA79|year=2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521515955}}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Murphy |first=Cornelius |title=The Prehistoric Archaeology of the Beara Peninsula, Co. Cork |publisher=Department of Archaeology, [[University College Cork]] |year=1997}}<br />
* {{cite book|last=Piccolo|first=Salvatore|title=Ancient Stones: The Prehistoric Dolmens of Sicily|year=2013|publisher=Thornham/Norfolk: Brazen Head Publishing|isbn=978-0956510624}}<br />
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== Further reading ==<br />
* {{citation |last=Knight |first=Peter |title=Ancient Stones of Dorset |year=1996}}.{{incomplete citation|date=January 2023}}<br />
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== External links ==<br />
{{Commons|Dolmen}}<br />
{{Wiktionary|dolmen}}<br />
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070324210503/http://www.heritage.go.kr/eng/her/her_08.jsp World heritage site of dolmen in Korea]<br />
* [https://www.worldhistory.org/dolmen/. Piccolo, Salvatore. "Dolmen." World History Encyclopedia.]<br />
* [https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1KaV195j0kPMHJfm2Qa9U5a461eA The Megalith Map]<br />
* [http://www.megalithic.co.uk/ The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map]<br />
* {{cite web|url= https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/977 |title=Dolmen (''Goindol'') sites in Korea }} on [[UNESCO]]'s [[World Heritage List]].<br />
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080116083508/http://www.jerseyheritagetrust.org/sites/hougue%20bie/hougue.html Jersey Heritage Trust]<br />
* [https://www.ringingcedarsofrussia.org/dolmens/ Dolmens of Russia]<br />
* [https://rgdn.info/en/dolmeny._chast_2._kak_stroilis_i_zachem_gipotezy Dolmens. Part 2. How and for which purpose were they built? Hypotheses]<br />
{{European Standing Stones}}<br />
{{Neolithic Europe}}<br />
{{Prehistoric technology}}<br />
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{{Authority control}}<br />
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[[Category:Dolmens| ]]<br />
[[Category:Burial monuments and structures]]<br />
[[Category:Megalithic monuments]]<br />
[[Category:Types of monuments and memorials]]<br />
[[Category:Stone monuments and memorials]]<br />
[[Category:Stones]]<br />
[[Category:Death customs]]<br />
[[Category:Megalithic monuments in the Middle East]]<br />
[[Category:Stone Age Europe]]</div>Ajay Kumar